With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” (Isa 35:3-4, NLT)
In 1789 it is said of President Benjamin Franklin that when the American constitution was ratified he quipped, “nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Now, Benjamin Franklin was in no way a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, however he certainly summed up something that seems to be very true; death and taxes seem like a sure thing. God certainly speaks about taxes (1Ch 18:2, Est 10:1, Rom 13:6 c.f. Mt 17:24) and though sometimes certain it’s definitely not as certain as death. It’s as famed author Stewart Stafford writes, “Spoiler alert: We all die in the end”. Now though this all sounds like bad news, and in once sense it very much is, for the Christian death is actually not completely tragic in every sense of the word. Allow me to explain.
Death is NOT natural
You see death is actually not natural to humanity as we were created to be in an eternal loving relationship with our creator (Gen 1-2), yet because of sin - in our first parents - we severed that relationship and thus the curse of death was sentenced upon us (Gen 3:19 c.f. Rom 5:12). In and of ourselves (or in IN Adam as the Apostle puts it) we remain cursed, in sin and under the sentence of death (Rom 5:14,18a,19a; 1 Cor 15:21-22). Therefore to continue IN Adam, death is a seriously tragic event because when one dies in their sin, it means that they die under the curse originally passed on by our first parents. This is known as condemnation and it is eternal (Jn 8:24, WCF 6 ). However there is good news in all of this.
Jesus Christ tasted death for you and me
Incredibly our creator didn’t leave us in this state of disaster but took on flesh and came to dwell among us (Jn 1:14), not as a tourist sightseeing, but as a servant to save us (Rom 8:3; Phil 2:6-8). How did he do this? Well he came to take the curse of our sin and its sentence of death upon himself (2 Cor 5:21, Gal 3:13, Heb 2:9) and we are told clearly that we don’t work for this blessing, but simply receive it in faith (Eph 2:8), thats right, for the curse of sin and death to come off you and to be placed on Jesus, we are told clearly that we must call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved (Jn 3:16, Acts 16:30-31, Rom 10:13). No matter who you are, what you have done, where you have come from, the message is the same - The sheep will hear the voice of the Lord and The Lord will in no way cast anyone out who comes to him and He came to give his sheep life and life eternal (Jn 10:27-28 c.f Jn 6:37-39). That is why anyone who has heard and believed the gospel and has cast their trust upon the Lord might say that they have been cut out of Adam and been grafted INTO Christ or as John puts it, we have passed from death to life (Jn 15, 1 Jn 3:14). So dear ones, again, death for the Christian isn’t tragic in every sense of the word.
Christians can rejoice because the curse is gone
You see IN Christ, well it’s just the beginning of grasping how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is for his people (Eph 3:18-19). Yes, we who remain mourn because our loved one has departed for a time, but this is the thing, it’s just a time because they have gone on to the place that has been prepared for us all that placed our faith in Christ (Jn 14:3). So though we might not mourn like those of the world, we might also lift our minds to where Christ is and say the same as many brothers and sisters through the ages, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:55-57 c.f. 1 Thess 4:13-18).